The Allure of Contemporary Japanese Ceramics

Japan has long been known as a prolific origin for ceramic art.  The origin of Japanese ceramics can be traced back to Japan’s Jōmon period, lasting from roughly 14,000 to 300 BCE, where coiled rope patterns were often pressed into ceramic earthenware pottery to create adornments. 

The Long Heritage of Japanese Ceramics 

These early unglazed earthenware pieces gave way to glazed earthenware and, eventually, both glazed and unglazed stoneware. Stoneware pieces were typically employed in utilitarian tools such as plates and utensils, as its durability would allow for consistent use. 

The Japanese first used porcelain created in Arita, Hizen Province, Kyushu around 1600, where borrowed techniques from the Korean peninsula were employed to create stunning pieces with vibrant designs. 

The Toseki stone, local to Amakusa island, gave the base of this porcelain a rich and creamy white color that was prized for its beauty and simplicity as the backdrop of hand-painted designs.  

Our Favorite Contemporary Japanese Ceramic Artists 

Japan has, since ancient periods, held ceramics in high esteem as an art form. Many attribute this to the popularity of the tea ceremony, in which these ceramic creations are employed as a vessel for this sacred cultural sharing of hospitality and respite. Today, ceramicists remain a respected group of artists, and contemporary Japanese artists see worldwide success and recognition for their unique takes on this classic art form. Here are a few contemporary Japanese ceramics artists you should know.

#1: Riyoo Kim 

Riyoo Kim was born in Osaka in 1980 to a Japanese father and Korean mother, and graduated Osaka University of Arts Graduate School with an M.A. in Fine Art in 2006. Kim’s unbelievably unique perspective and intensely detailed ceramic artistry is the product of a fusion of inspirations. Kim looks to science fiction, streetwear, and animation as wellsprings of inspiration for his works, yet blends this deeply modern sensibility with a reverence for and reference to the ritual works of pottery created in early Jomon.  

 Currently working in both the Kanagawa and Shiga prefectures of Japan, Kim won the semi-grand prix for Modern Ceramic Art Exhibition in KOBE Biennale 2009 and his work housed in private and public collections globally, including exhibitions like “BASARA” (2010/Spiral Hall), Yokohama Triennale (2011/Yokohama Museum of Art) and solo exhibition “Haji-Kabane” (2013/Roppongi Hills A/D Gallery) , “Awes for the Cosmic” (2013 / SNOW Contemporary) and more. 

 He believes that creating is a process of saving his soul, citing that, since ancient times, awe and wonder in natural providence have continuously driven people to create things like prayers. 

#2: Tanaka Tomomi 

Tanaka Tomomi was born in Hyogo and attended Aichi University of Education in Japan. Her sculptural objects are hallmarked by delicate lamellas of clay, meticulously crafted and affixed to a clay core. She cites a frantic need to express her suppressed emotions, revealed to her during her earlier days of artistic development, as a driver in her pieces, a range of organic, flowing forms reminiscent of waves, limbs, and waists.  

Tomomi’s sculptures are emotionally rich and delicately complex, and she views them as not only reflections of internal landscapes but also as entities bearing life of their own. Tomomi’s work brings forth an emotional and unique perspective in the modern landscape of contemporary Japanese ceramics.

#3: Inayoshi Osamu 

Inayoshi Osamu began his career in ceramics with a vow: to create a handcrafted, special urn for his parents’ remains, unlike the mass-produced kotsutsubo, a customary ceramic urn, that would hold his beloved grandfather’s ashes. Inspired by a lifelong love of nature and a knack for working with his hands, he joined the Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Art School in Seto and soon created a career that centered on creating bespoke and heartfelt kotsutsubo. He moved to Mino, where he studied the rich history and techniques of Minoyaki. During this period, he stumbled upon Atsumiyaki, an ancient pottery style originating in his home, the Atsumi Peninsula. This technique truly resonated with Osamu, and he dedicated himself to honing in on this craft.  

Osamu sees ceramics as a universal language, and sets out to communicate the rich narratives of traditions, local cultures, and the intrinsic connection to nature he has unearthed through pottery, ensuring that traditional handcrafts have a place in modern Japan and beyond.  

#4: Hashimoto Tomonari 

Award-winning ceramicist Hashimoto Tomonari draws his inspiration from energy. His goal is to capture the intangible presence that can be sensed but not seen, encapsulating this raw energy into form with ceramics. He completed a Ph.D. in Fine Art from Kanazawa University of Art and then moved to Shigaraki to pursue his creative practice, which uniquely features structures that have only been added to, not carved away. This accumulation practice is followed by a glaze rich in metal oxides, fired once, then carbonized and re-fired to highlight the unique properties of the metals. Tomonari builds a kiln specific to his work with each firing, an intense and laborious process that honors the true nature of his work in contemporary Japanese ceramics, which can be captured in the following portion of his artist statement:  

“The whole process from forming the clay, glazing, firing, building a kiln, then again firing, sets an order to myself as an individual, and it, the whole process, is the time to face my inner self. The pursuit of the intangible have led me to the concept of Introspection.”

#4: Yuji Ueda 

Yuji Ueda hails from Shiga Prefecture. His family are cultivators of the famed Asamiya tea born of this region. In addition to Asamiya tea, this prefecture is home to one of the Six Ancient Kilns of Japan, where Ueda found his creative passion while studying under the guidance of prolific local ceramist Kohyama Yasuhisa.  

A nearly reptilian “shedding” hallmarks Ueda’s works, the result of a unique process of firing that centers on Choseki feldspar, or otherwise builds up irregular clay surfaces that can be fired in anagama kilns. Feldspar is native to Shiga and the neighboring region Iga, which is one of the oldest sites of pottery production in Japan. Ueda’s works are futuristic, truly encapsulating the “contemporary” portion of contemporary Japanese ceramics.  They shed, molt, and morph with the employment of feldspar in the technique of crafting and firing, and they typically capture a rounded and obscure warped-orb shape accented by the warping and cracking of the three types of clay utilized in their creation. This unique process and nearly organic result, employed with a backing of traditional Japanese ceramic techniques and Shigaraki vessels, has earned Ueda wide acclaim. He has been exhibiting since 2008, and is an active exhibitor and participant at the esteemed Kaikai Kiki gallery.  

#5: Hiraoka Junpei 

“In Japanese the word “complex” is causally used to describe an inferiority complex or closeness. However, I am aware that in psychology, the term refers to certain types of impulses, desires, and attachments. I have titled my work Complex to reference both of these meanings.” 

These are Hiraoka Junpei’s own words, which reflect the highly detailed, raw, and emotive shapes and finishes that distinguish his work in the realm of contemporary Japanese ceramics. Junpei employs abstract shapes with multilayered, nest-like finishes and vibrant colors in order to capture and display his own “complexes”– the mental and emotional responses to civil and political circumstances in Japan. Junpei’s carefully layered slippage and manipulation of color and texture are part of what he calls “reconstruction”– in which he unpacks, processes, and re-forms these emotions through ceramic works. Junpei studied in his native Tokyo as well as in Tajimi, and has won several awards since 2017. He regularly exhibits in both group and solo exhibitions in Japan and beyond.  

New Traditions in Contemporary Japanese Ceramics 

 Contemporary Japanese ceramics are vastly and wildly unique from artist to artist, but the underpinning of the contemporary Japanese ceramic movement are shared.  

Contemporary Japanese ceramicists are driven by emotion, raw energy and natural processes, and many harken back to the traditional processes and materials native to Japan’s long and acclaimed history as a stalwart in ceramics artistry. Their new and innovative techniques and concepts put a new twist on an ancient practice, resulting in wildly inventive and spectacular works that will undoubtedly shape the history and future of ceramics.  

Contemporary Japanese Ceramics at Moderne Gallery 

Moderne Gallery is proud to feature work from each of the aforementioned artists, in addition to several other contemporary Japanese ceramics artists and other ceramic artists from around the world. Browse our ceramics collections on our website.